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Saturday, November 04, 2006

Bringing new life to lemon bars...

I was having trouble with posting, so I had to do today's post as two separate ones. The "during" pictures of the remodel that we promised can be found just below this post! *Also, just a reminder - we do pretty much post daily so if you don't see a new post at some point, you may need to hit refresh to see the changes!

I hope this trend continues as we had another success from the new King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook. Sunny Citrus Squares updates a classic lemon bar with a new crust and a sweet and tart filling. Instead of a wheat flour base, spelt flour is used and brings a smoother, nutty flavor to the crust. Once prepared, the crust is given a head start with a pre-bake until it turns a light golden. While it cooks, the filling is made from sweet sugar mixed with a combination of tart lemon and lime juice. For more depth, the zest of both the lemon and lime are added - this also gives the filling a more unique appearance with dots of the two colors coarsing through.

When the crust is done, the filling is poured on and it goes in for another bake until the filling has set. This may be tough, but for the best texture, this mixture should be allowed to relax in the refrigerator overnight - don't skip this step! Once it comes back to room temperature, the traditional topping of confectioners' sugar is sifted on and the bars are ready to be devoured. With the much-loved combination of lemon and lime, these two bright flavors kept our taste buds jumping in anticipation of the next bite. Matching the thick buttery-sweet crust with the firm, yet velvety soft filling, made Jeff proclaim these the "best lemon bars yet!"